Category Archive: 3) Swiss Markets and News

Main Author Investec

Investec is a distinctive Specialist Bank and Asset Manager. We provide a diverse range of financial products and services to a niche client base in three principal markets, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Australia, as well as certain other geographies. Investec’s strategic goals are motivated by the desire to develop an efficient and integrated business on an international scale through the active pursuit of clearly established core competencies in the group’s principal business areas.

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Bern train station to expand to meet growing rail traffic

2017-05-25

by Swissinfo

2017-05-25

Bern railway station, Switzerland’s second busiest after Zurich, is set to expand with the creation of a new underground rail station serving regional trains between Bern and Solothurn. A pedestrian access area is also planned.Some 202,000 passengers pass through Bern’s main train station – the second largest in Switzerland – every working day of the week.

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Poverty in Switzerland has more to do with age than any other factor

2017-05-24

by Investec

2017-05-24

A recent report classifies 570,000 people in Switzerland as poor. This number represents 7% of the population, and relates to 2015. In 2014, the same percentage was 6.6%. The report, which looks only at income, defines as poor a single person with income less than CHF 2,239 per month or a family of four with income below CHF 3,984 per month.

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Novartis to shed 500 jobs in Basel

2017-05-24

by Swissinfo

2017-05-24

The Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has announced that it plans to cut 500 jobs at its Basel headquarters in Switzerland over the next 18 months. It says it will also create 350 new posts, mostly in its biotech business. Novartis said in a statement on Thursday that it planned to cut up to 500 jobs in the Basel area or to relocate workers to other sites over the next 18 months.

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Swiss agriculture under fire at WTO

2017-05-23

by Swissinfo

2017-05-23

The European Union and the United States have criticised Switzerland for the over-protection of its agricultural sector. Responding to the questions raised at the Geneva-based World Trade Organization (WTO), Switzerland said it would make an effort to ease protections, on condition that other member states do likewise.

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Swiss authorities concerned about health impact of certain chemicals

2017-05-23

by Investec

2017-05-23

A pilot bio-monitoring project in Switzerland will measure traces of pollutants and micronutrient and endocrine disruptors in organic samples. According to 20 Minutes, the impact of certain chemical products worries the authorities. The pilot project was launched last week by the executive branch of Switzerland’s government, known as the Federal Council.

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Swiss Press Reacts Positively to Energy Legislation

2017-05-22

by Swissinfo

2017-05-22

A majority of commentators in Swiss newspapers are pleased with voters’ decision to withdraw from nuclear power and promote renewable energies, even if the government’s energy strategy leaves many open questions.

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Strong Swiss franc could be over reckons currency strategist at UBS

2017-05-21

by Investec

2017-05-21

Tribune de Genève. After more than two years of a highly overvalued franc, relative to the euro, the currency should ease in the near term reckons Thomas Flury, senior currency strategist at UBS. He expects a euro to be worth 1.14 francs in 6 months and 1.16 within a year.

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Political Lobbying on the Rise in Switzerland

2017-05-21

by Swissinfo

2017-05-21

Links between parliamentarians in Bern and lobby groups have grown steadily in recent years, according to a study by the Universities of Lausanne and Geneva. Between 2007 and 2015, these sorts of ties between interest groups and politicians increased by 20%.

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6 Swiss regions in Europe’s 10 most prosperous

2017-05-20

by Investec

2017-05-20

Six Swiss regions make the top ten most prosperous regions of Europe measured in terms of GDP per person, according to an analysis by the University of Lausanne. The six Swiss regions are Zurich (3rd), Ticino (4th), Basel (5th), the region around Zug (6th), Bern-Solothurn (7th) and Suisse romande, Switzerland French-speaking region (8th).

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Three Swiss Farms Close a Day

2017-05-19

by Swissinfo

2017-05-19

The trend for fewer but larger farms continued in Switzerland last year, with the total number dropping by 990 to 52,263. While small and conventionally farmed businesses were throwing in the towel, organic agriculture flourished.

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Syngenta deal will ‘drive modernisation’ of Chinese farming

2017-05-19

by Swissinfo

2017-05-19

Syngenta, the Swiss agribusiness group which is being acquired by ChemChina in the biggest foreign takeover by a Chinese company, will help Beijing modernise China's farm sector while simultaneously remaining firmly a "western company", its chairman has said. Michel Demaré told The Financial Times that, under its new owners, Syngenta would become "a partner of the Chinese government to basically drive the modernisation of Chinese agriculture – so...

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Cabinet sees no need to regulate social media

2017-05-18

by Swissinfo

2017-05-18

Remain vigilant, continue to monitor, but no need for concerted federal action. This was the conclusion of a cabinet report Wednesday on social media and the problems it can provoke, including “fake news” and distorting public opinion. The cabinet decided that, for now, more regulation is not the solution.

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Swiss export products banned as toxic at home

2017-05-17

by Swissinfo

2017-05-17

In the wake of a Chinese takeover of the Swiss agribusiness group Syngenta, a Swiss advocacy group raises concerns about Switzerland's regulatory role. Switzerland exports two powerful herbicides, atrazine and paraquat, to developing countries. However, these products, manufactured by Basel giant Syngenta, are prohibited in the Swiss territory.

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Swiss awarded stolen tax CD payment

2017-05-16

by Swissinfo

2017-05-16

Switzerland will receive most of the money paid by the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) to a man who provided the state with stolen Credit Suisse client data, it has been confirmed.

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Swiss engineers wanted – nerds need not apply

2017-05-15

by Swissinfo

2017-05-15

Too many students turn their backs on engineering thinking it is a career for “nerds”, according to a leading Swiss business lobbyist. Changing this perception is key to plugging an expected shortfall of 50,000 engineering professionals in Switzerland.

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New 20 Swiss franc note officially launched

2017-05-14

by Investec

2017-05-14

The Swiss National Bank is the process of issuing new bank notes. A new 50 franc note hit the streets last year. Now it is the new 20 franc note’s turn. Officially launched today, it will enter circulation on 17 May 2017.

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Swiss-German ‘spy’ drama raises hackles – and questions

2017-05-14

by Swissinfo

2017-05-14

The sale of stolen Swiss banking data has centered on the German state of North Rhine Westphalia(Keystone) The arrest of a suspected Swiss spy in Germany has raised questions about what roles the Swiss secret service, the state public prosecutor and UBS bank played in the affair. The 54-year-old man, known as Daniel M, is accused of spying on the German tax authorities to find out who sold stolen Swiss banking data.His arrest...

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How companies in Switzerland become best places to work

2017-05-13

by Swissinfo

2017-05-13

A new ranking shows the best firms to work for in Switzerland – with Google topping the large companies for a third time in a row. Important to employees in all categories: a respectful and motivational work culture. In all, 29 companies were awarded Best Workplaces in Switzerland in the Great Place to Work® Award Ceremony in Zurich on Thursday evening.

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Easyjet expands in Geneva adding a new aircraft

2017-05-13

by Investec

2017-05-13

On Friday, Easyjet added a 14th aircraft to its Geneva-based fleet. The new Airbus A320 will allow it to add new destinations. The new aircraft will create 36 new jobs on top of the current 500 at the airline’s Geneva base, Thomas Haagensen, Easyjet’s director of northern Europe, told Le Matin Dimanche.

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How The US Government Let A Giant Bank Pin A Scandal On A Former Employee

2017-05-12

by Tyler Durden

2017-05-12

The following is an excerpt from David Enrich's nonfiction financial and legal thriller The Spider Network: The Wild Story of a Math Genius, a Gang of Backstabbing Bankers, and One of the Greatest Scams in Financial History. (Read part of the prologue here; another excerpt can be found here) This excerpt takes place shortly after the accused mastermind of the Libor scandal, Tom Hayes, is fired from his job at Citigroup, kicking government...

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